Chapter 285 I must marry you!
How the internal strife in the West was quelled remains a mystery; the Duke of Avana has not told me any details because I refused his marriage proposal.
"I'm too devastated to say much," the Duke of Avana said, looking aggrieved. "If I feel better during dinner, I might be able to say something."
“The so-called inside story must be of great importance,” I sighed. “You must have some unavoidable difficulties that you cannot disclose, but that’s alright.”
I won't sell myself to a man for sales and advertising fees, that's it. Not publishing this kind of news isn't necessarily bad; it involves other countries' internal affairs, and you could easily get censored if you're not careful.
The Duke of Avanna smiled faintly at me, but the disappointment in his eyes was even greater.
Aurora sighed deeply. Afterwards, she pulled me into the study and said, "Mother, which powerful person doesn't have a mistress? Don't be intimidated by one mistress."
“They can have mistresses, and I can choose not to marry,” I said.
"No wonder you can't get married," Aurora said, seemingly amused but actually annoyed. "What man could stand you?"
"Is marriage mandatory? We don't have to get married where we're from."
“But you live here now,” Aurora said. “Of course, you can choose not to marry now, your children are all grown up, but can you think about the capital? We can’t make up for our deficit right now.”
"Is this my fault?" I said coldly. "Yes, this royal city was originally a poor city, but you have been running it for many years and it is still losing money. Do you dare to say that you bear no responsibility at all?"
"Yes, I am incompetent, but I have lived in the Elven Realm for many years. How could I know so many things? I have done my best to maintain this for so many years."
"Then you should bear this responsibility, not me."
"You are my mother. You didn't raise me, so shouldn't you fulfill your responsibilities?"
"The royal city is your responsibility, you are the queen." With that, I slammed the door and left.
I'm furious. Aurora makes it sound like I haven't done anything for the capital. Since taking over the finances, I've been subsidizing every month's expenses and streamlined the palace's finances, cutting costs by more than half. I've also used a portion of the newspaper advertising revenue for public welfare, building over a hundred tin-roofed brick houses in the slums for the poor to live in for free—placed in order of their level of poverty—which has reduced the capital's nighttime crime rate. Doesn't she see that?
Perhaps she saw it, but said nothing; she felt it was what you should do.
The night was cool and still, especially chilly in early spring. I sat on the stone steps at the top of the palace, sighing deeply.
Mia quietly came to my side, wrapped in a thick coat, and squeezed next to me.
"Grandma, did you and Mom have another fight?"
"She forced me to get married."
“The Duke of Avana is rich, of course he wants you to marry him. To be honest, I also want to marry him, but he doesn’t think much of me. Grandmother, why don’t you want to marry him?”
“His mistress is too formidable.” I laughed.
“How could you be afraid of mistresses?” Mia didn’t believe it. “King Bernot has many mistresses, and each one is formidable. I’ve never seen you afraid of them. My grandfather, the Elf King, also has mistresses, but I’ve never heard you afraid of them. The Grand Master of the North also has many mistresses, but I’ve never seen you frown.”
"How could I not be afraid of this mistress? I almost lost my head." I accidentally let it slip.
Mia gasped, covering her mouth in shock. "She'll chop off your head?"
“It wasn’t her who cut it,” I could only say, “it’s probably related to her. Anyway, I just don’t want to get involved in their mess. The waters in the north are very deep, and not just anyone can get involved.”
“Grandma, I want to work at the printing factory.” Mia suddenly changed the subject. “I also want to learn how to make money like you, even if I have to start from scratch.”
"You really want to learn?" I was surprised.
“Yes,” Mia said firmly.
The next morning, Mia dressed as a boy, in men's clothing, her hair all tied up and tucked into a hat, and went with me to the printing factory. Jacob went along too. He had heard that Mia was going to learn how to make newspapers and wanted to go with her. Jacob usually did nothing but drink and sleep all day, or attend balls at noble houses until dawn, living an empty and boring life. After a while, perhaps he wanted a change, and now that his sister seemed to have found something fun, he wanted to go along too.
I took them both to the printing factory and found the oldest master craftsman to participate in the entire process of papermaking and printing.
While we were busy, what I said to Mia last night reached Aurora's ears.
"Losing her head?" Aurora laughed. "Isn't it a bit too serious? Has this mistress lost her mind?"
After a while, Aurora fell into deep thought.
A little while later, the Duke of Avana also received the news, which Aurora had secretly sent.
That night I had another strange dream. The Duke of Avana somehow found out his mistress was having an affair and secretly sent men to search her home in the north. The search was astounding; they found a pile of letters secretly communicating with powerful figures in the western capital, including several from King Hyja. Even more chilling were several love letters written by his son Ares to his mistress.
It turns out that someone in the western capital had been in contact with the mistress, trying to find out the Grand Duke's movements and recent events. King Hyja had also been wary of the Grand Duke. Ares, on the other hand, had been having an affair with his mistress for two years, and she had even secretly had an abortion for him.
The Duke of Avanna was a man of great ambition, remaining calm and collected. He arranged for his mistress to socialize with noblewomen in the western capital, and then found a way to place her under King Hyja's nose. Before long, King Hyja and his mistress were together. The nobles were all waiting to see the Duke of Avanna make a fool of himself, but the Duke magnanimously declared that feelings are beyond control, and from then on blessed the king and his mistress.
The mistress grew bolder and bolder, secretly becoming involved with several nobles in the capital she had previously been in contact with, and also having secret dealings with Ares.
One day, the affair was exposed: the mistress was caught in bed with a nobleman by King Hyja. All of the mistress's secrets were revealed, including secret letters with the Duke of Avana's illegitimate son. The letters clearly stated that the mistress would help Ares gain the support of the capital's powerful nobles, thereby securing power in the north. Ares had also used money given to him by his mistress to buy two private armies, which he was secretly training, and he was planning to buy a third, ready to seize power at the opportune moment, overthrow his father, and take control of the north.
The exposure of this affair caused an uproar among the nobles. The mistress and Ares were sent to the guillotine. The high-ranking nobles who had affairs with the mistresses also suffered heavy losses, their reputations damaged, their power weakened, and they even had to pay a large sum of money to the Duke of Avana. The Duke of Avana emerged as the big winner, acquiring a large sum of money and greatly enhancing his image in the Westerlands—generous, tolerant, and valuing noble reputation, he was a magnanimous and highly respected nobleman.
In the Westerlands, it is a shameful act for a father to kill his son, even if the son is illegitimate. But now, a illegitimate son is trying to kill his father, and the king has been cuckolded; naturally, he cannot let this man off the hook. The Duke of Avanna is merely an innocent victim—his own son is wiped out without a drop of blood being spilled.
The scene shifted again, and I found myself back in the previous dream.
Inside the opulent, gold-flecked room, a heavily made-up Julia was arguing with Ares. Ares had been exposed for having an affair with a wealthy heiress whose family owned a mining operation, and was even about to get engaged to her. Julia threatened to expose their affair to the Duke if he dared to get engaged. Ares outwardly agreed, but the instant Julia turned to leave, he slit her throat from behind with a dagger.
She was even able to turn her head and look at her lover in disbelief.
Then, he fell heavily to the ground.
Blood was everywhere; it was a horrific sight.
Ares blew on the bloodstains on her knife, not afraid at all—after all, she was fighting with the superpowered woman for a man, so she could just blame everything on the superpowered woman…
I woke up suddenly, covered in a cold sweat.
The pale gray light peeked through the gaps in the curtains; another day had passed.
Sitting on the edge of the bed in a daze, I finally understood. The Avana in my last dream may not have loved his mistress that much, but she was his safe haven. The self-esteem, honor, adoration, and sense of dependence that he couldn't find in me, he could find in his mistress.
My competence, assertiveness, and uncompromising nature put him under a lot of pressure, but he didn't want to go against me, nor did he want to argue or fight, so he chose to escape.
He didn't truly love his mistress. This is evident from the fact that he believed I killed her, yet he only imprisoned me for three months and quickly found a new mistress. The mistress was merely his way of resisting me. "You kill one, I can just find another. You can't kill them all, let's see how you manage?"
I put on a long dress and outer robe, went to the royal study to find Aurora, and gave her a 50,000 gold and silver note. “As long as you get the Duke of Avana away immediately, this note will be your pocket money. You can spend it however you want.”
Aurora smiled as she looked at the banknotes, but then asked me, "Why are you in such a hurry all of a sudden? Did something happen?"
"As long as he's here, I can't sit still for a day."
"He didn't do anything to you, why are you reacting so strongly?"
"Do you want this money?" I raised my voice.
Aurora took the silver note and shrugged. "Okay, I'll try my best to figure something out."
That afternoon, news came that the Duke of Avana was leaving. I was surprised; I hadn't expected things to go so smoothly.
Unexpectedly, three days later, Duke Avana came again, this time with Haya. As soon as Haya saw me, she laughed loudly, "Supernatural woman, I didn't expect you to have such a big reputation that the Grand Duke had to come and beg me to help him propose to you."
I was stunned.
“Superpowered Woman, Superpowered Woman, I don’t know where you get your charm from, making men so smitten.” Hya laughed and leaned back in his chair. “I told the Grand Duke that Superpowered Woman would never agree to your proposal. She’s even rejected my proposal several times, how could she possibly agree to yours? But he insisted that I come and plead for her. I had no choice but to come in person to repay the favor he did during the internal strife.”
“I will not agree,” I said coldly.
"See? I told you, how could she possibly agree?" Haiya laughed. "She's just a simpleton, probably a blockhead in bed. Why are you bothering her?"
“I want to marry her,” the Duke of Avanna said with unusual calm.
“We’re not a good match,” I said earnestly. “I’m domineering, I’m a man of my word, and I don’t give men any respect. I make you feel like you have no dignity and no sense of self-worth, which is why you have to seek comfort in your mistress. Why do you do this? You should have found a woman who makes you feel valued and who is gentle and considerate from the beginning, instead of clinging to me.”
Even the most virtuous woman can be swayed by persistent suitors! I was quite disgusted and said again, "I've already found someone to marry, I'm not marrying you."
"Who is it?!" Duke Avana asked more calmly.
“I’ll just marry Nathan. He likes me, and I like him.”
Hya laughed loudly and slumped back in her chair again. "Don't ruin anything for him, you superpowered woman. If you marry that kid, he'll be lying dead in the street in a few days. Even if the Grand Duke doesn't get to him, King Bernot and the Grand Chancellor of the North will. They won't tolerate you marrying a nobleman's bastard. You're the mother of the Grand Chancellor of the North's daughter. Where does that leave the Grand Chancellor's reputation?"
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Author's Note: Please, please read my other works too! And please add "Animal Farm" to your favorites, hehe~~
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